Setting off toward an unknown destination has always been a small adventure. Before hitting the road, boarding a ship, or taking to the skies, certain people carry out actions they attribute particular significance to. Passed down through generations, these beliefs blend protection, luck, and a fear of the unknown. And depending on the country, the precautions to ensure a good journey can be, frankly, surprising. In several Eastern European countries, departure is regarded as a moment so important that it deserves its very own ceremonial rite.
Before You Set Off, It’s Best to Observe Certain Rituals
In Russia, for instance, there is a tradition that travelers pause for a moment before leaving the house. Known as “prisyadem na dorozhku”, this custom involves taking a quiet, brief pause right before departure. It is thought to help gather one’s thoughts and verify that nothing has been forgotten, but it also carries a superstitious dimension: interrupting the departure for a moment is believed to help ensure the journey goes smoothly. The tradition is also known in Ukraine, where relatives may sit together before departure in a short moment of silence.
Still in Russia, returning home after you have already started your trip is considered a bad omen. If a forgotten item forces the traveler to turn back, a belief holds that they should look at themselves in a mirror before continuing. This gesture is intended to neutralize the misfortune caused by that unexpected return. Another precaution? Some traditions advise against taking out the trash just before leaving, so as not to symbolically carry misfortune with you.
In the Balkans, another everyday element may accompany the traveler: water. In Serbia, in particular, it is traditional to pour water behind someone who is departing to wish them a happy journey. The symbol is telling: if the water flows freely and without obstacle, the trip should proceed without a hitch. The custom can also be invoked before an exam, a job interview, or any other important event.
Protection can also take a much more tangible form. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and other parts of the Balkans, garlic has long been associated with protection against the evil eye and malicious influences. A clove can be carried in luggage as a good‑luck charm. But this belief is part of a broader tradition. Garlic indeed carries in various European and Asian cultures a reputation as a protective object. However, claims that it specifically shields travelers from drowning are far less well documented.
Certain precautions finally concern what is best not to do. In several folk traditions, sweeping immediately after someone departs is discouraged. The act could symbolically sweep away their luck or prevent their return. This principle is especially found in Balkan folklore. The traveler therefore leaves the house, but their return must continue to be symbolically safeguarded.
Once on the Road, the Good-Luck Charms Change with Cultures
Superstitions do not disappear once the door is behind you. They can instead focus on the mode of transport itself. With the advent of aviation, new habits emerged, some of which became genuine family rituals. Accounts in the folklore archives at the University of Southern California report, for example, the habit of touching the outside of the airplane before boarding, sometimes with the right hand, as a way to request that the flight go smoothly.
Another superstition involves boarding the plane with the right foot forward. The idea is simple: begin the journey “on the right foot.” Again, this practice has been documented in family recollections collected by American folklore archives. The right side is traditionally associated with luck in various cultures, so starting a new adventure this way is believed to attract favorable omens.
Numbers can also influence whether a hotel room or an airplane seat feels reassuring. Thirteen is considered unlucky in many Western countries, to the extent that some buildings and hotels do not have a 13th floor. In China, it is rather the number 4 that is avoided in certain circumstances, its pronunciation being close to the word for death in several Chinese languages. This aversion, known as tetraphobia, explains why some buildings, hotels, or hospitals may skip this number.
The Birth of the Infamous Friday the 13th
In Italy, finally, the unlucky number is traditionally 17. The belief is linked to the Roman numeral XVII, which can be rearranged into VIXI, a Latin expression meaning “I have lived”, interpreted as a veiled way of saying “I am dead”. Some Italian establishments thus avoid this number, just as their Western counterparts may avoid 13. The superstitious traveler may also be wary of Friday.
In some Western traditions, starting a journey on that day was considered unfavorable, a belief especially prevalent in the maritime world. Sailors, indeed, have accumulated over the centuries a host of rules regarding departures, words to say or avoid, and signs that signal the course of a crossing. It is precisely from this old blend of beliefs around Friday and the number 13 that the reputation of Friday the 13th was born.
